A Comparative Study of ‘Absolute Unseen Worlds’ from Ibn-Arabi’s and De Leon’s Perspectives

Divinity and Lordship are two levels of the absolute unseen worlds in existence that have a special place in ontology. The present paper reports on a comparative study of Ibn-Arabi’s and De Leon’s views on the absolute unseen worlds. The concept of the absolute unseen worlds is defined as the level of divinity considering the essence and names, and the level of lordship considering the essence, both of which have no direct relationship with the real world ontologically. The results of this study are based on close reading of Ibn Arabi’s and De Leon’s works and the commentaries added to them. The study aimed to explain the causes of the absolute unseen worlds and their relationship with unity of essence and the lower worlds. Based on the ontological approach of these two thinkers, it can be inferred that divinity is the setting of essence names and lordship is the setting where acts appear, all with their specific aspects. These levels are independent by nature from creation and are the starting point for the emergence of names. As from both thinkers’ point of view divinity is not much different from essence, contradiction in their description of this level is remarkable. Despite considerable similarities between the two thinkers' approach, Ibn Arabi's epistemological approach is is different from De Leon's ontological one.